The extraordinary life of the photographer lee miller

Once seen, her images cannot be unseen. Born in Poughkeepsie, about km north of New York City, Miller studied art at an early age and was a frequent model for her amateur photographer father. By the late s she was the most sought-after fashion model in the US. Frustrated with the mind-numbing and exploitative character of this work, Miller resolved to become a photographer and moved to Paris in Attracted to the Surrealist movement, she persuaded photographer Man Ray, a prominent figure in that movement, to take her on as his apprentice.

Lee Miller, born Elizabeth Miller on April 23, , in Poughkeepsie, New York, led a life marked by remarkable transformations.

Miller ended her relationship with Ray in and moved back to New York, where she established a successful commercial studio. Her photographs were included in the Modern European Photography group show in New York that year, and in she held her first solo exhibition. Three years later she returned to France, where she renewed her connections with her friends in the Surrealist artistic milieu and met British painter Roland Penrose.

British actress Kate Winslet, a principal initiator of the movie, is compelling as Miller.

Iconic American photographer & Vogue war correspondent in France during World War II I was inspired by Anne Boyd’s excellent Substack article on Lee Miller below to drive down through .

Miller and Penrose relocate to Britain just as the war begins. A pacifist and conscientious objector, Penrose is employed to develop camouflage for the army. Miller is hired by British Vogue editor Audrey Withers Andrea Riseborough , who wants the magazine to feature female involvement in the war. She circumvents British rules blocking her from the frontline and uses her American citizenship to accredit herself with the US forces.

She reports on the bloody battle for St. Malo where US forces first used napalm.